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Poster for Carol of the Bells

Carol of the Bells

Seen it?

2023 | 122 min | Drama, History

Monday Morning Maybeearly rating

Why it’s a Monday Morning Maybe

With almost no lasting buzz and soft box office, this one could be a tough watch. Keep your phone handy.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for history buffs. If you loved Belfast or Meet Me in St. Louis, start here.
The mood
Thoughtful and character-driven.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 2 hr 2 min.
What might put you off
It's in another language, so expect subtitles (or a dub).

Immortalised as one of the most scintillating and uplifting Christmas songs, 'Carol of the Bells' adapted from a popular and loved Ukrainian folk melody, came to represent the spirit of brotherhood and unity all over the world. The peaceful and neighbourly existence of three families, Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish, sharing a large house, musical evenings and merriment in the city of Stanislaviv in the years preceding and post war, is shattered. First in the Soviet occupation and the persecution of the Polish family, then, by the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, and the decimation of the Jewish family. Sacrificing their lives the Ukrainian family manage to save their neighbours' children and their own daughter. Death and loss come to these families, but the healing power and joy , and a promise that the Future Will Not be Cancelled which "Carol of the Bells' evokes will be everlasting.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsNot counted

    Not enough reviews on record yet

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerBelow par

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactWeak

    About 6K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Olesya Morhunets

  • Yana KoroliovaSofiia Ivaniuk
  • Andrii MostrenkoMykhailo Ivaniuk
  • Polina GromovaYaroslava Ivaniuk
  • Joanna OpozdaWanda Kalinowska
  • Mirosław HaniszewskiWaclaw Kalinowski
  • Khrystyna UshytskaTeresa Kalinowska
  • Tomasz SobczakIsaac Herszkowicz
  • Alla BinieievaBerta Herszkowicz
  • Evgeniya SolodovnikDinah Herszkowicz
  • Timofey DmitrienkoHeinrich Krampe